Thursday, January 24, 2013

In case you somehow missed the news, this coming Saturday is the Launch Party for Gygax Magazine. It will be held at the Brooklyn Strategist (a place I've visited before for the Dave Arneson Memorial Game Day) and the event run from 1:30 PM to (I believe) 7:30 PM. The event will be streamed online for those folks unable to make to trip to the majestic borough of Brooklyn that day.

I'm currently planning on attending, but Mother Nature might be having a few words with us here in NY tomorrow. Ultimately, road conditions and whether or not the streets of Brooklyn are piled high with plowed snow will determine if I show or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and anticipating making the trip.

For those people planning to be there in-person, RSVPs are required to get the free tickets needed for entry. Make sure you get your ticket before turning up at the door!

Friday, January 18, 2013

Chaosium reported today that Lynn Willis, co-creator of Call of Cthulhu, has passed. As a long-time fan of CoC and Mr. Willis' work, I suspect I speak for many when I say he will be greatly missed.

We are sad to announce the passing of Lynn Willis, a pillar
of Chaosium,Call of Cthulhu,and of the roleplaying community. Lynn had been combating aging and illness for
several years, and passed while in a hospital for treatment. He is survived by
his partner Marcia, and a community of friends and admirers.

Lynn began in gaming as a board game designer, and entered Chaosium with Lords of the Middle Sea. He was the third employee of Chaosium, first as an editor and then as the mastermind behind the entire Call of Cthulhu line, as well as other projects, for the decades that he was with us. He loved his work and brought all his abilities to the job. He was incredibly smart, astonishingly widely read, detail oriented, and capable. He is largely responsible for the high quality, playability, and popularity of the leading horror RPG in our field.

He will be missed. We trust that he is at peace. We give Marcia our thanks and blessings for her devoted love and support for Lynn, and wish her joy, happiness, and success in her future endeavors and memories of the past.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

I’ve been a vocal advocate for the “shared world” experience
in role-playing games. Although the referee is responsible for the majority of
the heavy lifting when it comes to detailing the campaign world, I don’t
believe he or she should be the only one carrying the load. As a game master, I
encourage player creativity to help fill in the unpainted corners of the world
we’re all exploring and experiencing together. It not only jump-starts my own
creative process, but allows for a greater investment in the setting on the
part of the players.

The following is a result of that refereeing style. In my Kingmaker Pathfinder game, the party’s
wizard often refers back to his time at the magic university he studied at
prior to his adventures in the Stolen Lands. Player Rich has elaborated a
wonderful backstory about how his wizard paid his way through college as a
bootlegger brewer and regularly provides bits of information and lore with the
preface “When I was studying magic in Strormfast…” I, for one, believe such
creativity should be rewarded, and, inspired by Rich’s anecdotes, have sketched
out a brief description of the hitherto unnamed university his wizard attended.
Rich’s wizard is of the evoker school and, based upon his usual method of
prying information from prisoners, I thought the benefit provided for studying
evocation at the Ashgate Academy is fitting.

The Ashgate Academy can easily be dropped into any 3.5 or
Pathfinder campaign with a name change or two. Older editions of the game can
utilize the Academy with a little mechanical tweaking.

Ashgate Academy

Founded in 1499 G.C.R., the Ashgate Academy is one of the
few renowned and respected schools of the magical arts in the harsh northern
kingdoms. Situated in Strormfast, the college earned its name from the site of
its construction. The Academy stands at the base of Pyre Cliff, the traditional
site of cremation for the city’s dead. Following the incineration of the deceased’s
mortal remains, the funeral procession bearing the ashes pass through a
wrought-iron gate erected at the base of the cliff. The Academy’s main building
faces this “Ashgate,” thereby earning its designation. The Academy’s sigil is a
crimson flame inside the archway of an argent gate on a field of deep azure.

The Ashgate Academy is best known for producing exceptional practitioners
in the schools of enchantment, evocation, and necromancy. Instructed by masters
of these magical arts, the graduates of these three schools enjoy a minor
benefit from their education. These benefits manifest as follows:

Graduates of Ashgate Academy’s enchantment college are
well-schooled in the identification and classification of magical auras.
Enchanters of the Ashgate Academy gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Spellcraft
checks made to determine the school of magic involved in a magical aura or to
identify the properties of a magical item when using the detect magic spell.

Graduates of Ashgate Academy’s evocation college are famed
as battle wizards and feared for their ability to rain destruction down upon
enemies. Evokers of the Ashgate Academy receive Intimidate as a class skill.

Graduates of Ashgate Academy’s necromancy college receive
intense training in the funeral practices and beliefs of many diverse cultures.
Necromancers of the Ashgate Academy receive a +1 circumstance bonus on
Knowledge (religion) skill checks regarding funeral rites, afterlife symbolism,
and the identification of deities possessing the Death domain.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Here we are with twelve brand-spankin’ new months ahead of
us. Naturally, it’s time to make resolutions for the coming year. I’m going to
keep mine short, simple, and realistic so as not to disappoint myself too
greatly in 365 days. Therefore, my gaming resolutions for the coming year are:

1) Finish Stonehell 2: I’ve made a great deal of progress on
the book in the past several weeks and the three-year-long delay is finally
being defeated. I’m finishing up Level 9 at the moment, leaving me with just four
more quadrants to complete before the most daunting portion of the book is
conquered. I remain hopeful I can debut the book at Gary Con V, but will settle
for unleashing it in June at NTRPG Con if things go amiss. Regardless of actual
release date, this is the year it escapes into the wild and I can cross it off
my “to do” list.

2) Keep writing: Like academia, freelancing is strictly “publish
or perish.” My workload in 2012 grew larger and I intend to exceed what I did
this year in 2013. I’ve got some scheduled projects already and a few pitches
in the air that I’m waiting on responses to. There’s also a post-Stonehell
project of my own which I intend to get out there this year. I’ll have more on
that in the near future.

3) Broaden the scope of my design work: Most every writer and
designer wants to prove their talents are applicable across a wide field and
that they’re not limited to a single system or genre. I’m best known for my old
school fantasy RPG material, but I want to do more with different games and
genres. The game I did for Goblinoid Games that should see print in 2013 is a
step in the right direction, but I hunger to do more. This desire will hopefully
take me out of my comfort zone, but that’s the only way to grow and to build a
reputation for versatility. Hopefully, this is the year I make that break.

4) No more damned miniature buying until I get some figs off
the damned worktable: A refrain everyone who dabbles in painting minis is no
stranger to. I don’t especially need more figures and I’ve got enough to keep
me busy throughout the year. Once the backlog gets hewn away at, then I’ll
consider future purchases.

5) Run games: Outside of the convention scene and a few
pick-up one-shots this year, I played more than I refereed, and that’s not what
I enjoy most about this hobby. I’ve got three campaigns in mind for 2013. One
is Pathfinder’s “Kingmaker” Adventure Path, which I started, but never got a
chance to finish. The second is Gamma World, a game I often dabble with, but
never get off the ground. The third is a playtest campaign for my new project. The
“Kingmaker” and Gamma World campaigns are symptomatic of my wish to step away
from the dungeon-centric game and get back to the hexcrawl. Once Stonehell 2 is
done, I need wide-open spaces and exploration on a geographic scale. I’m
itching to world-build, and both those games will give me the opportunity to do
so.

That’s it. Although apparently short and simple, those are
pretty sizeable goals for the New Year, ones that will occupy a lot of my time.
But I’m happiest when I busiest and these five look like the makings of a
pretty happy 2013 to me.

Who's to Blame

Despite having never been a professional adventurer, Michael Curtis has nonetheless deciphered cryptic writings, handled ancient maps and texts, ridden both a camel and an elephant, fallen off a mountain, participated in a mystical rite, and discovered the resting places of lost treasures. He can be contacted at poleandrope @ gmaildotcom